Best available cop t



A. H. MIDGLEY.-

ELECTRIC STARTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION mso 050.18. ms.

1,317,806. Patented Oct. 7,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

M 101mm A. H. MIDGLEY.

ELECTRIC STARTER FOR INIERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.1B.' I918.

1 Patent-ed Oct. 7,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVE I AT TORNI-IY AJ H. MIDGLEY.

ELECTRIC STARTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSIION ENGINES.

'APPUCATiON men DEC. 1:: I918.

Patentii Oct. 7, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 \T TORNEY IE1 E 15.

BY am Acton Vale, inthe county of UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT HENRY MIDGLEY, OF ACTON VALE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOB OF ONE-HALF To C.A. VANDERVELL 8c COMPANY LIMITED, 0F ACTON VALE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAN D.

ELECTRIC STARTER FOR INTERHAL-GOMBUSTION ENGINES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I ALBERT HENRY MIDG- LEY, subject of the Iiing of GreatBritain and Ireland, and residing at War 1e Way,

Biiddlesex, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin and Relating to Electric Starters for Internal-Combustion Engines, ofwhich the following is a specification. This invention relates to animproved arrangement of electric starter for internal combustionengines, and more particularly for use in connection with large enginessuch as employed in submarine chasers.

The main object ofthe invention is to provide improved means which wouidprevent any damaging. of the teeth of the starter either by back-fire orby the sudden starting of the engine.

With this object in view, the invention consists in arranging that theignition shall be disconnected before the motor commences to turn theengine, and that the o eration of the ignition shall start immediate yupon the motor being disconnected from the enne. The invention alsoconsists in the arrangement hereinafter more particularly referred to.

One way of can ing the invention into effect is illustrateddiagrammatically and by way of example inthe accompanying draw ingts, inwhich v igure 1 illustrates the improved arement in its first posltion,

1g. 2 illustrates the arrangementin its second position, while Fig. 3 isa diagram of connections.

Referring to the drawin a is an electric motor, which is prefers 1y anordinary series wound motor, and is geared, to the flywheel 6 or otherpart of the engine. The gear may comprise a pinion a on the shaft of theelectric motor, a toothed rim d provided on the fly-wheel, andintermediate toothed wheels 6 f secured to an intermediate shaft 9 andadapted to be shifted longitudinally, together with the latter shaft, bymeans of a lever h. shaft 9 is provided with an extension 1: adapted tooperate the motor switch 9', the, arran dm'ent being such that whenthe-Jever h, the shaft 9 and its extensioni are in theposi iims shown inFig. 1, the motor switch 7'" is cosed, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

nition switch is, the gear wheels Patented Oct. 7, 1919.

Application filed December 18, 1918. Serial No. 267,358,

when they are in the positions shown in Fig. 2, the said switch is open.

The ignition system comprises a ma eto ignition A and a battery ignitionwith a trcmbler coil B, the two ignitions being under the control of aswitch I: adapted'to be operated under the-control of the starting leverh; for instance, the two movable contacts A and B of the magneto andbattery ignition, respectively, may be mounted on a sprin controlledspindle 1 adapted to be Ilongitu inally shifted in one direction by theshaft extension 11 under the control of the starting lever h, and in theopposite direction by its sprin m, when released from the pressureexerted thereon under the control of the starting lever.

The operation of the arrangement herein-, before described is as followsThe starting lever h is moved in one direction, as shown in Fig. 1,whereby the two ignitions A and B are disconnected by the magneto beingshort-circuited and the battery ignition circuit being broken lily theigbeing immediately thereupon brought into mesh with one another, andthe starter switch 7' being closed, the electric motor a now turnin theengine so as to draw as into the cy inders. The starting lever isthereupon moved in the opposite direction, whereby the gear wheels arebrought out of mesh with one another, as shown in Fig. 2, and theelectric motor a'is mechanically and electrically disconnected.Immediately ulpon the gears being brought out of mesh, t e ignitionswitch It is shifted into its operative position in which the magnetoignition and the battery ignition circuits A and B are reestablished,thereby causing a spark in the cylinders and starting the enne. I wishit to be understood that the invention is not limited to the arrangementand details hereinbefore given by wa of ex= ample, as the same may bemodifie without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims:

1. An electric starter for internafmm' bustion engines comprising-anelectric motor, a shiftable gear between the elctric motor and theengine means for shifting the gear in and out of the operative position,an ignition switch, ignition circuits associated with the said i nitionswitch, and means under the centre of the means for shifting the gearand capable of acting upon the ignition switch to render the ignitioncircuits inoperative when the gear is in its operative position, and toren or them operative when the gear is in its inoperative position, asset orth.

2. An electric starter forjnternal combustion engines com rising anelectric motor, a shiftable gear tween the electricmotor and the engine,means for shifting the gear in and out of the OPBI'MlVZgDSitiOD, an iition switch comprising fix and mova le contacts, 'a spindle carryingthemovable contacts and a spring forcing the spin die in one 'rection,ignition circuits connected'to the fixed contacts of the ignitionswitch, and means under the control of-the means for shiftin the gearand capable of forcing the spin'le carrying the movable contacts in theopposite direction to that in which it is forced by the s ring, theshiftable r and. the means cepa is of forcing the said spindle being caable of simultaneous movement .in one direction so as to be brought intooperative turning positionand to render the ignition circuitsinoperative respectively, and of simultaneous movement in the otherdirectio n so as to be brought into inoperative turning position and torender the ignition circuits operative respectively as set forth.

3. electric starter for internal-com busti'on engines comprisinganelectricmotor, a shiftmble gear between the electric-mo- -placeableinterme 'ete r secured to said she tor and the engine, means forshifting the ear in and put of the operative position, an ignitionswitch, ignition circuits associated with the said ignition switch, amotor switch 40 connected with the electric motor and means under thecontrol of the means or shifti the gear and capable of acting upon theignition switch to render the ignition circuits inoperative and ofclosing the motor switch when the r is in its operative position,

and of acting upon the ignition switch to render the ignition circuitsoperative and of i opening the motor switch w 4. An e ectri'c starterfor internal combus tion engines comprisin an electric motor, a gearmember on the e ectric motor, a gear member on the e inc, 9.longitudinsllji dis an extension of e intermed ate shaft, a lever forlongitudinally displacing the intermediate shaft and its extension, 11motor switch, an ignition switch comprising fixed and movable contacts,a spindle carrying the movable coni placed by the latter against theaction of the set forth spring, as end for the pn have signed .n y y Intestimony whereof name to this specification.

ALBERT HENRY MIDGLEY.

k en the as is in its mo ratlve position, as set in iate shafitaninterniedi-

